Poison egg scandal has Dutch concerned about food safety

Germany

German front pages focussed on the outcome of Wednesday’s diesel summit, where federal and regional governments agreed with car manufacturers that the industry would cut emissions by paying for software upgrades in more than 5 million cars. Die Welt and FAZ quoted Federal Minister of Transport Alexander Dobrindt from the Christian Social Union, Bavarian sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, who said he saw a "a sensible basis" for the reduction of emissions.

FAZ also reported on a diplomatic row between Germany and Vietnam. The spat was sparked by claims the Vietnamese secret service kidnapped a former official of Vietnam's Communist Party in Berlin and returned him to the Southeast Asian country. German authorities are investigating the case.

France

The number of French households with an income above €100,000 has increased significantly compared to last year, Les Echos reported based on data from the tax authorities. The data also showed some 6,400 people had an income of more than €1 million, accounting for € 3.7 billion in tax revenues, or 5.4 percent of total taxes collected.

Le Monde's front page featured a story on the eurozone's economic growth 10 years after the start of the financial crisis. Gross domestic product in euro countries grew by 0.6 percent in the second quarter of this year, according to Eurostat figures. French GDP grew by 0.5 percent over the period, Austria grew 0.8 percent and Spain 0.9. The paper quoted Thibault Mercier, a eurozone specialist at BNP Paribas: "Nobody expected such a performance a year ago, with the prospect of Brexit and the rise of populism in politics."

UK

The Times’ front page focussed on the construction of so-called pollution tunnels to cover motorways in a bid to protect nearby homes and improve air quality. The paper noted opponents warn the plan risks trapping emissions in an enclosed area and making air quality worse for drivers. The paper also reported on a watchdog's warning that Whitehall’s "addiction to secrecy" was getting worse. The Advisory Council on National Records and Archives accused the government of censorship after civil servants refused to release a record number of historic sensitive documents for public access.

The Guardian reported on a coroner's finding that a British man who fought ISIS as a volunteer died a hero when he turned his weapon on himself after being surrounded by enemy troops.

The Netherlands

Food safety concerns were Dutch papers' top story after news emerged that health authority NVWA failed to act swiftly after discovering contaminated eggs. Investigators found traces of a harmful agent in eggs, leading to the temporary closure of 200 poultry farms. Both AD and De Telegraaf ran stories questioning the food industry's influence.